According to a new report from Oxfam, one percent of the world’s population now owns over half of all wealth in the world. Let that sink in for a second.
Here are some other statistics from the report that may surprise you.
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The wealth of the one percent richest people in the world amounts to $110 trillion. That’s 65 times the total wealth of the bottom half of the world’s population.
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The bottom half of the world’s population owns that same as the richest 85 people in the world.
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Seven out of ten people live in countries where economic inequality has increased in the last 30 years.
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The richest one percent increased their share of income in 24 out of 26 countries for which we have data between 1980 and 2012.
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In the US, the wealthiest one percent captured 95 percent of post-financial crisis growth since 2009, while the bottom 90 percent became poorer.
So what does this mean?
It’s important to note that these statistics primarily deal with wealth and not income. The difference is that wealth is more closely associated with possessions and income is often solely money.
For the most part, Oxfam recommends that the wealthiest in the world improve their behavior. Their recommendations include that the wealthiest stop dodging taxes, stop using their wealth to encourage unfair political favors, demand a living wage and improvements to their healthcare systems.
Joshua is a writer and researcher with Ring of Fire. You can follow him on Twitter @Joshual33.
